December Opera News
Terrymelin
arrived. An interesting, though very incomplete, article on the last page talks
about operatic disasters ... especially a "Fanciulla" with Steber and the
Scotto MET "Norma." Having been at the latter I can attest to it. Otherwise, I
can't really think of another all out mess I've attended in the opera house
though I'll think of one I'm sure. Anyone else?
Terry Ellsworth
Enzo62
Yes, but the point of Peter G. Davis' article is that not all performances of
note were really as good or bad as the legend would have us believe. He cites
the 1981 Scotto Norma prima as an example. Davis concedes that Scotto was past
her prime but hardly the woefully inadequate singer that many have made her out
to be. Never mind the fact that the organized cabal responsible for booing
Scotto left little room for a fair assessment of her abilities.
Jason McVicker
"Us opera singers ain't dumb!"
Katia Ricciarelli
Ed Rosen
(Terrymelin) writes:
>
>Well, only one week after receiving my November Opera News my December
issue
>arrived. An interesting, though very incomplete, article on the last
page talks
>about operatic disasters ... especially a "Fanciulla" with Steber and
the
>Scotto MET "Norma." Having been at the latter I can attest to it.
Otherwise, I
>can't really think of another all out mess I've attended in the opera
house
>though I'll think of one I'm sure. Anyone else?
>
I was at both the Steber Fanciulla and the Scotto Norma.
The Fanciulla was almost funny, if Steber's singing hadn't been so bad.
She certainly was a trouper to step in on short notice in a role that
she hadn't done in over 10 years, and one which she only did one, or at
best, two runs in.
Scores and pages of music were concealed all over the stage, but not
really concealed too well, since I could plainly see a number of them
from my seat high in the Family Circle. She seemed a bit out of it, as
if stoned or drunk. I'm not saying she was- I'm only saying she seemed
that way.
Corelli sang Act 1, and sounded just fine as far as I can recall. The
audience was very surprised when it was announced that he was
indisposed, and would be replaced in Acts 2 & 3 by one Gaetano Bardini.
(I think I got his name right.) Well, the poor man was perhaps a whole
foot shorter than Corelli, and looked like the funniest cowboy you ever
saw in his costume, which was many sizes too big.
I honestly don't remember too much about the rest of the evening,
except that it was not a good performance, to say the least. I think
Corelli just wanted to get the hell out of there as fast as he could,
after he saw what was happening in the one act he sang. Bardini was
also short of voice for the demanding role of Dick Johnson,
unfortunately for him and the Met.
I thought Scotto was treated unfairly in her opening night Norma
disaster. She was booed and screamed at at her entrance, before she
had even sung a note! This is, IMO, very unfair, and disruptive, to
say the least. If she was nervous before she came out, she must have
been terrified after her entrance.
She was not in good voice at all, and the booing just seemed to
snowball throughout the night. Troyanos must have been unnerved, also.
She sang some very strange notes, and went totally into a previously
unknown key during the first duet with Norma. Domingo was just fine as
Pollione, and really sang well.
There must be many other performances that I've attended that ended in
disaster, but these two come right to mind, espcially since they were
written about in the new Opera News.
I wasn't there, but there was a Ballo in Parma in the mid 60's where
the audience booed Claudia Parada so loudly after her "Morro" that
Cornell MacNeil, her stage husband as Renato, yelled out "Basta,
cretini" and walked off, and I believe the performance was stopped at
that point.
Of course, there's the famous Norma given at Carnegie in concert form
in the late 60's with Suliotous and Nancy Tatum, that must have set
some kind of record for boos. Two famous Normas of the recent past
were present- Milanov & Callas, and each made what seemed to be
scheduled entrances to get the most attention- and applause- possible.
I seem to recall spotlights on them. Regine Crespin was also there,
and alledgedly walked out waving her fist at the booing audience.
The performance was quite rocky. Suliotous was in very poor voice, and
Tatum was much worse. There first big duet together had people
shouting out during the music. It was a night to remember.
And I can't close without mentioning the biggest operatic farce I ever
saw. In 1972, a Bellini opera, "Adelson & Salvini" was performed in
concert form at Town Hall. I purchased a ticket with some friends,
since it was such a rarity. I had never before heard of the "stars"-
Stefan Zucker and Rosina Wolf.
Well, the overture started on this horribly out of tune rinky dink
piano, and the immediate impulse was to laugh, which I and just about
everyone else did.
Then some singers in smallish roles sang some dialogue, and they were
not good, but were bearable.
Then, and I don't remember who came first, Zucker and Wolf came on and
sang. Well- I can't describe what happened. It was the "awfulest"
singing one could imagine. To call it singing at all is much too kind.
Zucker sounded like a crane with his head being cut off, and she
sounded as bad.
People started shouting obscenities out loud. I remember a guy behind
me yelling "I want my money back. I paid $10 for this. $10 fu---ng
bucks!!" I never laughed harder in my life than I did at this
performance. I had to leave after Act 2 because my sides hurt so much
from laughing. It was a real travesty.
Best,
Ed
Ed Rosen<in...@legatoclassics.com> for free catalog
Legato Classics, Inc.
http://www.legatoclassics.com
MD
One, and the replacement (Carlo Bini?) was booed off the stage, and the conductor
started having heart problems on the podium and yelled at the audience?
Emma Alban
>I thought Scotto was treated unfairly in her opening night Norma disaster.
She was booed and screamed at at her entrance>
That's true and that was organized. However the claim by that moron McVicker
(who of course never saw an opera before last month and was probably on his
knees during most of it) that it was entirely organized won't hold water. The
blue haired ladies and their men folk around me, the ones who generally sleep
through opening night and never even applaud, were standing up and shaking
their fists and pocket books at the stage -- they were not part of a clique. A
record number of phone calls were received by the Met with people canceling
subscriptions if Scotto were in too many performances. A lot of people who had
loved her were shocked by her performance. What was strange is that while
directors and sometimes conductors are booed at the Met, it's almost unheard of
for a singer to be booed. I think the shortest way to explain it is that
Scotto had sung too much at the Met (39 performances in the season before) and
a lot of "ordinary" people were sick of her. Norma had an illustrious history
at the Met up until then and then of course bad feelings from a cabal are
contagious. It was sad because she was the last great Italian singer willing
to confront the biggest roles; because the third performance was better and
because I think she suffered a terrible blow to her confidence. And finally,
because that night put her career on downward trajectory when with a little
luck she could have been marvelous still in Werther, MANON and maybe even
Carmen, all of which were planned at that time. Still, some risks aren't worth
taking, even by somebody with huge courage -- and I think Norma qualified for
Scotto. As for the internet cabal against Robert Wilson -- which I am accused
of making up (by people who don't read for context) there was some planning,
that was clear. But that was also a case of the "demonstration" proving
contagious and a Met opening night audience reasonably eager to boo a director.
As I said above, what was so odd about Scotto, is that singers (even
catastrophic ones) are simply not booed at the Met.
Emma Albani
Enzo62
>A
>record number of phone calls were received by the Met with people canceling
>subscriptions if Scotto were in too many performances.
This is just unsubstantiated hogwash. What is a "record number?" 10 versus
the usual 2? Picture it: hordes of subscribers flooding the Met switchboard,
howling with indignation about the supposed atrocities committed by one singer
against Bellini. And Met management, frightened by the loss of millions of
dollars in revenue from Scotto haters, limits future appearances by the diva.
Yeah, that sounds logical. Especially when you consider that Scotto showed up
on Met subscription series with unchanging frequency in subsequent seasons.
>A lot of people who
>had
>loved her were shocked by her performance. What was strange is that while
>directors and sometimes conductors are booed at the Met, it's almost unheard
>of
>for a singer to be booed. I think the shortest way to explain it is that
>Scotto had sung too much at the Met (39 performances in the season before)
>and
>a lot of "ordinary" people were sick of her. Norma had an illustrious
>history
>at the Met up until then.
Really? I guess those rousing revivals with such duos as Shirley Verrett-Elena
Obratzsova are part of that "illustrious history." Not to mention Rita
Hunter's poor showing in the title role.
<<and then of course bad feelings from a cabal are
>contagious. It was sad because she was the last great Italian singer willing
>to confront the biggest roles; because the third performance was better and
>because I think she suffered a terrible blow to her confidence. And finally,
>because that night put her career on downward trajectory when with a little
>luck she could have been marvelous still in Werther, MANON and maybe even
>Carmen, all of which were planned at that time.>>
Some of these ideas went far beyond the planning stages. While the Carmen
project never materialized, she sang the title role in Manon for Lyric Opera of
Chicago in 1983. And Charlotte was one of the most frequent of Scotto's
late-career assignements, including performances for San Francisco, Dallas and
Barcelona.
THudeck
>to confront the biggest roles; because the third performance was better and
>because I think she suffered a terrible blow to her confidence.
Scotto was not the first soprano (nor the last I'm sure) to suffer through a
stormy night as Norma. I was not at the performance (thank God -I'm a total
Scotto fan) but understand that the heckling she received at her entrance
totally unnerved her, which apparently was the intention. Granted, Scotto was
a couple of years late for Norma, but I'm sure she could still have delivered
an exciting, very Italian Norma under more congenial conditions - as you
mentioned, her later performances were considerably improved. My impression is
that she was really very brave to continue at all. Funny, the Opera News
article did not mention the Rome 1958 Callas Norma Act II cancellation -
surely, this ranks up there somewhere ...? Nevermind, I notice now the article
only refers to Met disasters... Anyway, who can really do Norma today? I saw
Vaness in the role, who I usually like, but it wasn't quite there dramatically.
I'll take Scotto (Callas goes without saying) even on an off night...
Travis
Emma Alban
fantastic Norma from Houston that a record company I know is putting out in
spectacular sound -- she is thrilling there, even better than on her complete
or Florence with Muti (though I like her with Rinaldi there). And it's maybe
six months before the Met. Even that first night, "Dormoni entrambi" was very
moving as was most of the final scene. Scotto really abandoned herself to the
giant arcs of sound Bellini imagined (and Wagner imitated). She was always a
great artist. And what was infuriating about the booing (and I have to admit to
getting into a tussle with a group of genital males who ran up the side aisles
of the orchestra booing and screaming 'evivia La Callas'), was that when I saw
Callas in Philly (yes, yes, I was 9 but I had worn out her record and would
have died for her) -- SHE WAS WORSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And that was the Academy
of Music, half the size of the old Met. I couldn't hear her and she was under
pitch all night. There were Barbieri, Del Monaco and Siepi shaking the walls,
and this little mouse stood there and did semaphores. We all detested her. (I
mean the posse of South Philly crazies I already fit into too well.) And here
were these jerks, one of whom RUINED Scotto's Luisa Miller telecast, bruising
this great singer. Adolfo, was that that idiot's name? He's the one who
screamed "Evivia La Callas, regina dell opera" from the first row of the Met.
That was a live telecast and there was no way to fix it. So it was never
re-shown and there was never a prayer for it to be released commercially. And
it is a great performance. Politically it was unwise for Scotto to do Norma at
the Met; but she never had a phrase that wasn't full of genius. Oh, I loathe
those people, I loathe them! Callas was booed too (a couple of people I was
with booed her Lucia at the Old Met, but it wasn't that bad, she just cracked a
little) but Scotto was really damaged by it. The Trittico telecast should be
available commercially; in fact it should have been telecast years before. And
the Met should have supported her through Werther at least. I will have to stop
now or I will become enraged and go after innocent posters on r.m.o.
Emma Albani
Enzo62
>Yes, you are right, THudeck, Scotto was a lot better later; and there is a
>fantastic Norma from Houston that a record company I know is putting out in
>spectacular sound -- she is thrilling there, even better than on her complete
>or Florence with Muti (though I like her with Rinaldi there). And it's maybe
>six months before the Met.
Incorrect. Scotto's Houston Norma performances took place in October of 1978.
That's three years before the Met fiasco. However, she did sing Norma in
Vienna a few months before the Met opening and both she and Troyanos (the
Adalgisa of the production) scored a huge triumph with the local press and
public.
Ed Rosen
>
>Travis
>
As a matter of fact, Scotto sang very well in the Norma performances
following the opening night. Of course, that didn't make headlines.
Ed
Ed Rosen
Alban) writes:
>
>Yes, you are right, THudeck, Scotto was a lot better later; and there
is a
>fantastic Norma from Houston that a record company I know is putting
out in
>spectacular sound -- she is thrilling there, even better than on her
complete
>or Florence with Muti (though I like her with Rinaldi there). And
it's maybe
I think his name was Etien- don't know if it was his first or last
name.
He supposedly had a Callas shrine in his apartment, and would kneel at
it every morning upon awakening.
The ridiculous reason behind his, and others, obsession was that, in
their opinion, Scotto had badmouthed Callas on the TV documentary in
the late 70's, which was a tribute in memory of Callas.
These sentences, spoken, I would think, with complete innocence on
Scotto's part, but perhaps not tactfully in this surrounding, had more
damage on her career than she, or anyone, could ever have imagine. It
caused these nuts to shout at her, and attempt to ruin many a
performance.
Best,
Ed
Musipro
Funny, the Opera News
>article did not mention the Rome 1958 Callas Norma Act II cancellation -
>surely, this ranks up there somewhere ...?
There are CDs of the Rome Norma in circulation and, at least to my ear (and
Michael Scott's), Callas' singing is far from disastrous. She may have been
feeling genuine vocal distress, but from the aural evidence there seems little
reason for the firestorm she chose to bring down on herself.
Michael E. Miller/Robert E. Seletsky
>
> ... Even that first night, "Dormoni entrambi" was very
> moving as was most of the final scene. Scotto really abandoned herself to the
> giant arcs of sound Bellini imagined (and Wagner imitated). She was always a
> Callas in Philly (yes, yes, I was 9 but I had worn out her record and would
> have died for her) -- SHE WAS WORSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And that was the Academy
> of Music, half the size of the old Met. I couldn't hear her and she was under
> pitch all night. There were Barbieri, Del Monaco and Siepi shaking the walls,
> the Met; but she never had a phrase that wasn't full of genius. Oh, I loathe
> those people, I loathe them! Callas was booed too (a couple of people I was
> with booed her Lucia at the Old Met, but it wasn't that bad, she just cracked a
> now or I will become enraged and go after innocent posters on r.m.o.
Dear EA:
So you saw Callas in Philly during the October/November 1956 Normas.
Well I'm envious. Age certainly does have its rewards, no matter how
obsessed people are with youth's hollow glamour. I'm a bit surprised
that she sounded small at that point. Maybe she wasn't well, or was
exhausted. She never had a good time in her own country, it seems. But I
should point out that if Barbieri, Siepi, and MDM were "shaking the
walls," then it was *they* who were in the wrong for two reasons: [1]
stylistically, bellowing Norma is idiotic and tasteless and [2] if the
soprano is having a little trouble, colleagues have the artistic
responsibility of supporting her by modifying their interpretation; it's
just good professionalism, not to mention that the kind of nonsense you
described spoils the musical texture altogether. So that evening should
have been sung altogether at a softer dynamic. It would even have
offered chances for better and more profound musical shape, and the ear
immediately adjusts to a consistent sound level, whatever it is. It was
not Callas who was at fault.
As for booing, that is detestable unless the performer is deliberately
spoiling the music--which is rare. Personally, I'm not sure whether
Norma was a good role for Scotto, but doubtless she had studied it
assiduously and deserved every courtesy. The story she told about Callas
in the 1978 documentary ticked a lot of people off--leading to the boos
at the Met, but I don't think she was trying to be nasty, just colorful.
Her timing was just horrible. On the other hand, she attempted to *be*
Callas throughout her career, and was probably a little sensitive on the
subject--despite the fact that it was Callas' exhaustion and
unwillingness to do an fifth--and uncontracted--Sonnambula at Edinburgh
in 1957 that had allowed Scotto to become a star as her understudy.
Bob Seletsky (who else)
Michael E. Miller/Robert E. Seletsky
> There are CDs of the Rome Norma in circulation and, at least to my ear (and
> Michael Scott's), Callas' singing is far from disastrous. She may have been
> feeling genuine vocal distress, but from the aural evidence there seems little
> reason for the firestorm she chose to bring down on herself.
First of all, I've heard the Rome Walkout Norma (was there any doubt),
and she's not in good shape at all; she sounds right on the edge. I
believe her when she said she had a cold that turned into the flu during
rehearsals, and only went on at all because there was no understudy. As
a performer, I can say that you psyche yourself up to go on even if
you're sick, and think: "I'll do this, then I can be sick." Usually
you're right. Sometimes, you're just not and can't finish. Callas was
the opposite of a quitter, and she was an amazing realist most of the
time. But she miscalculated. She should have postponed the whole show.
Then none of it would have happened. No professional--and she was the
ultimate professional, as everyone knows--would just stop in the middle
unless they were feeling so bad that they physically couldn't go on. And
no matter how she sounded in Act I--and I maintain that she sounds
shredded--Callas was a regular musician like the rest of us. What could
she do? Collapse on stage, as she did finally in 1965--because the
beating she took for getting sick in Rome made her a wreck about
cancelling with good cause? I'd better stop. As a musician, I'm puttting
myself in her place and getting angrier and angrier at audience members
who don't have a clue as to what it's like to perform, much less perform
the most difficult opera known, and then when you're really sick.
Bob Seletsky
Musipro
>I've heard the Rome Walkout Norma (was there any doubt),
and she's not in good shape at all; she sounds right on the edge. I
>believe her when she said she had a cold that turned into the flu during
>rehearsals, and only went on at all because there was no understudy. As
>a performer, I can say that you psyche yourself up to go on even if
you're sick, and think: "I'll do this, then I can be sick." Usually
>you're right. Sometimes, you're just not and can't finish. Callas was
the opposite of a quitter, and she was an amazing realist most of the
>time. But she miscalculated. She should have postponed the whole show.
>Then none of it would have happened. No professional--and she was the
>ultimate professional, as everyone knows--would just stop in the middle
>unless they were feeling so bad that they physically couldn't go on. [snip]
>What could
>she do? Collapse on stage, as she did finally in 1965--because the
beating she took for getting sick in Rome made her a wreck about
>cancelling with good cause? I'd better stop. As a musician, I'm putting
>myself in her place and getting angrier and angrier at audience members
>who don't have a clue as to what it's like to perform, much less perform
>the most difficult opera known, and then when you're really sick.
Pace, Robert, pace. My sympathies are entirely with Callas on this one. She was
backed into a corner--the theater management was incredibly irresponsible in
not having a cover available. They behaved even more reprehensibly afterward,
not saying a word in her defense, and refusing to let her sing her remaining
performances even after she had recovered, instead shuttling Anita Cerquetti
back and forth from Naples to do the role. Ultimately the courts sided with her
as well, as you will recall, though by then her career was over and had long
been over in Italy, in large part due to the fallout from Rome.
Moreover, the decision not to cancel before the performance was not entirely
her own. From all accounts she went on under heavy pressure from both the
theater management and her husband, both of whom had ulterior motives for
wanting the performance to take place. No doubt she herself wanted to perform
and convinced herself that she could pull it off--mistakenly, as it turned out.
However, an entire legend has grown up about what happened during the
performance--her voice slipping away even as she sang, audience members
heckling her, etc.--and the actual recording reveals none of this. I stand by
what Michael Scott says: Callas sounds no worse here in Act One, for example,
than Scotto does in a live 1978 recording of Norma in Florence, supposedly a
performance that represents the latter diva's best work in the role.
The whole scandal has been discussed endlessly and no doubt you are much more
informed about it than me. All I'm saying is that actually listening to the
performance presents a less clearcut picture than one might think, from the
popularly accepted accounts that have long been accepted as fact.
Emma Alban
about her. I did worship her records when I was a kid and really continued to;
but the three times I saw her live (before the return as Tosca) were
disappointing. Now, of course, I was very young and voices on records are
different from voices in the house. And the atmosphere in Philly was generally
wild and pretty hostile to non Italians in Italian rep (a segment of the
audience booed Price in her first Tosca in Philly and cheered Gismondo; I was
never her biggest fan but he was atrocious beyond words). Still, I never saw
the magic of Callas and I was looking for it. I certainly wonder what I would
have made of it today. When I hear even the flawed Scotto (that awful second
Traviata for example) I can really hear the intention and imagination and I
forgive a lot; and I certainly found her that way at her last Met performances
(who could ever forget the last Butterfly fly, that damaged voice flung out
with all the will and sorrow of the world in it). And you're right that Del
Monaco and Barbieri were on their home turf, so to speak, with immense voices
and no taste; and she had something to prove. I dragged the South Philly posse
backstage, stood in line and got her autograph anyway. I asked her to sign the
first Norma to Albert. "How do you spell it?!" She growled. For me that was
the best part of the evening. She is a mystery to me. But I spent most of my
youth and young adulthood at the opera so I tended to love people I saw a lot
some of whom were a lot more impressive live than they ever sound on record
(Hans Hopf is a shocking example; anyone who saw Rysanek a lot, live I think
could often forgive and love her more than people who judge merely from the
easiest to find records, I'm never going to get over Inge Borkh who I
worshipped and adored, though I have a suspicion she was on the ordinary side,
if at a high level, and I remain Gabriella Tucci's biggest fan because I saw
her do EVERYTHING often.) I have no problems worshipping older singers on
record s who I never saw; but Callas falls in between for me -- though that's
of no interest to anyone else. And by the way, Scotto had many interesting
things to say about Callas, her technique and her artistry. She spoke of her
as one great professional does of another; without sentimentality but huge
insight. The "salty" quote everybody would fling at her does not do her
justice. And the other salty quote, about Pavarotti, was absolutely justified.
Emma
THudeck
>there is a
>fantastic Norma from Houston that a record company I know is putting out in
>spectacular sound -- she is thrilling there, even better than on her complete
>or Florence with Muti (though I like her with Rinaldi there).
I would really love to get a copy of this. My friend John heard Scotto's
Houston Norma and says she was just terrific - vocally, dramatically - the
whole package. Also said Troyanos was likewise in great voice and blended
beautifully with Scotto in the duets. If you know what label this is being
released on, I'd appreciate it - would make a great Christmas present for John
and of course I would need a copy too...:) John also got to meet Scotto (I'm
green everytime I think of it) and said she was just super nice to everyone and
had the biggest smile on her face all evening - a happier run of Normas, no
doubt. Thanks for the insights, Emma...
Travis
Shahrdad
Musipro wrote in message <19981121015756...@ng105.aol.com>...
>The whole scandal has been discussed endlessly and no doubt you are much
more
>informed about it than me. All I'm saying is that actually listening to the
>performance presents a less clearcut picture than one might think, from the
>popularly accepted accounts that have long been accepted as fact.
I think Callas barely squeaked her way though the first scene, which is
probably the easiest part of the whole opera. She said that she always had
her low notes, but she had almost lost the top and felt even the middle
slipping away. She also knew what she was faced with in the subsequent
scenes, and she realized she just couldn't pull it off. And with her
glamorous, thin figure, she no longer had the supplies of reserve support
and physical power which could get her though the opera.
I think had she gone before the curtain herself and told the audience that
she was losing her voice and couldn't go on, they would probably have been
okay about it. She could be very charming and vulnerable at times. But she
was too proud and professional to do this, and she wrongly expected the
management to be equally professional. And with an audience who was ready
to believe that she was an unprofessional bitch and a management ready to
screw her over to save their own asses, she was damned from the beginning of
the whole affair.
S.
Michael E. Miller/Robert E. Seletsky
> I think Callas barely squeaked her way though the first scene, which is
> probably the easiest part of the whole opera. She said that she always had
> her low notes, but she had almost lost the top and felt even the middle
> slipping away. She also knew what she was faced with in the subsequent
> scenes, and she realized she just couldn't pull it off. And with her
> glamorous, thin figure, she no longer had the supplies of reserve support
> and physical power which could get her though the opera.
Nothing truer has ever been said about Callas. And furthermore, I feel
that the Rome disaster physically damaged her voice permanently. She was
pushing her vocal muscles to get through the first big scena; you can
hear the strain. You can practically hear things ripping. And indeed,
her recordings during that year and beyond have none of the plush in the
middle and even less security on top than even her stuff from 1957. When
Callas felt that Rome had ruined her, it was in more important ways than
her reputation, alas.
> I think had she gone before the curtain herself and told the audience that
> she was losing her voice and couldn't go on, they would probably have been
> okay about it. She could be very charming and vulnerable at times. But she
> was too proud and professional to do this, and she wrongly expected the
> management to be equally professional. And with an audience who was ready
> to believe that she was an unprofessional bitch and a management ready to
> screw her over to save their own asses, she was damned from the beginning of
> the whole affair.
She was right because [1] even if she she had gone out to explain to the
audience herself--assuming she had the voice by then, and wouldn't have
fainted from fever--her detractors still would have made a federal case
of it and [2] it was just not her job. Have you ever heard an
announcement made by the artist him- or herself that he or she was
unable to finish?! It's always the job of the management, which the Rome
creeps failed to peform. And in this case, it was also they who failed
to provide what any singer should expect: an understudy. To add insult
to injury, it was their prodding that that made her act against her
better judgment in the first place and go on in that condition. Let's
face it: the Italians now say "La Divina," and have turned La Scala into
a Callas shrine, but during her great years, they had far less
attractive names for her, probably because she wasn't Italian. Poor
Callas: fighting with ther natives, and too uncomfortable to sing at her
best in her native US (probably because she was tense about her
obnoxious family being so close). And by the time she sang a complete
opera in Greece, it was vocally too late. Maddening for us who are
musicians and who love her art so.
Bob S.
Michael E. Miller/Robert E. Seletsky
>
> ...And the atmosphere in Philly was generally
> ...pretty hostile to non Italians in Italian rep...Still, I never saw
> the magic of Callas and I was looking for it... And you're right that Del
> Monaco and Barbieri were on their home turf, so to speak, with immense voices
> and no taste; and she had something to prove. I dragged the South Philly posse
> backstage, stood in line and got her autograph anyway. I asked her to sign the
Hi EA,
Let me simply say that when I have given performances after which I feel
angry with myself, I used to growl at admirers afterwards. It's
something I got over. Callas didn't learn post-concert diplomacy until
Onassis had killed hr spirit. She never completelt matured as a
professional in this one way; her perfectionism devoured her. Even in
the videotapes, you see her disappointment *on stage*: after the VESTALE
aria in Hamburg, 15 May 1959, she looks for an instant at conductor
Rescigno, lowers her eyes, and shakes her head slightly, before bowing.
And after the first aria in the Hamburg '62 conert, she rolls her eyes
slightly. And those were being broadcast! So don't take the growling
personally. Artists love their audiences, and surliness is never
directed at them. When they feel they haven't succeeded artistically,
they sulk and snap at people; they're just externalizing the anger with
themselves. And Callas had BIG reasons to feel angry that night, from
what you say: the voice not obeying in her signature role, and she was
saddled with colleagues who were either too inflexible to accommodate
her or the music (Barbieri, and possibly Siepi), and one who probably
deliberately wanted to make her feel worse--that bastard barking
non-musician tenor MDM.
And Americans frequently didn't and don't appreciate home-grown talent.
We're the only country who injure our own. Sadly, abroad, Callas faced
the same situation for the opposite reason: Europeans are hostile to
American artists. This has not changed: the majority of big-orchestra
conductors in the US are European, and Americans still get all excited
by foreign talent, even if it really stinks. The fact that we will never
see Callas' like again is something for which Americans of the '50s who
didn't take her seriously should be deeply ashamed.
Bob Seletsky
Henson Keys
I had the opportunity to see Scotto's Met NORMA later in the season,
the performance before the broadcast (Scotto cancelled the Sat mat,
and it was sung, I think, by Adelaide Negri, of all people). I recall
the performance as infused with great heart and solid musicality, and
the audience seemed subdued but positive in response. I think Mr.
Rosen is right--that brief interview in the Callas documentary of 1978
on PBS ("Why she do this to me") resulted in problems for Scotto for
years thereafter. I remember Scotto being booed by a small contingent
at the Met even in her hugely successful MANON LESCAUT of 1979-80,
prior to the NORMAs.
I also agree with other posters that the Scotto TRITTICO from the Met
needs to be released...an astonishing performance, especially her SUOR
ANGELICA. Absolutely unforgettable dramatic commitment..
Robert T. Jones
>There are CDs of the Rome Norma in circulation and, at least to my ear (and
>Michael Scott's), Callas' singing is far from disastrous. She may have been
>feeling genuine vocal distress, but from the aural evidence there seems little
>reason for the firestorm she chose to bring down on herself.
Callas cancelled after the first scene, in which she sings only "Casta
Diva," admittedly a famously difficult aria. But the rest of the role
lies ahead, and contains some 32 high Cs, to mention only the most
obvious of the difficulties ahead. Callas obviously sensed what her
voice could do and what it could not, and she decided it would be
foolhardy to plunge into the high seas ahead. I mean, after all, this
is not Mimi we're talking about!
Emma Alban
>I would really love to get a copy of the fantastic Norma from Houston<
VAI has an archival tape in spectacular sound and plans to release it within
the year ('99). You could get on their mailing list just to be on top of it
when it comes out. They also have some other Scotto, though I'm not sure how
far they plan to go. I am always sad that her Desdemona with Vickers was only
shown twice and not released commercially. The two of them are overwhelming --
"Dio ti Giocondi" is staggering and her last act, heart breaking. That is a
case where Domingo clout did the art form a disservice, because it is the best
Vickers video and Scotto is IMO the greatest Desdemona on video (hence it is
the great video Otello); one has to go back to Muzio/Merli to hear something
that wonderful in both duets (though of course, I AM RENATA TEBALDI). I don't
think Miss Scotto is all that fond of EA for reasons I won't go into but she is
a fantastic teacher and coach and very funny. And it's not only Maria Callas on
whom she has cast a great professional's chill eye. I remember running into
her on the street as she was preparing the Marschiallin.
She remembered that as I boy I had known the old Lotte Lehmann and worshipped
her. And she said to me, "Ma, this-a Lehmann's. Could-a she count? She so
famous as Marschiallin but-a SHE MAKE-A BIG MISTAKE!!!! That not professional!"
Lotte herself would have eaten little Renata alive at that moment with one
gulp; and I know some Lehmann obsessives who would have struck her dead. But I
thought it was hilarious. I didn't tell her Lehmann was going over the piano
score with some aspiring coaches and began to sing and little and swam her way
shamefully through a section at the end of act one. We got a little
uncomfortable and she caught us. "You know," she said, "Strauss himself rebuked
me for those mistakes. But I said to him, you are the great composer and I am
the humble nobody who tries so hard to sing your beautiful music. Ach! I have
no breath! I have no rhythm. I am nobody. But when I am on the stage, the good
lord sings through me, so, follow me and be greatful!" And she looked around
at us and said, "and you know, little ones, he did and he was!"
Only Lotte could have said something like that! That's why I loved her (and she
was just as mean to me as she was to everybody else).
Emma Albani, clearly in her anecdotage.
LuciaMim
Emma,
Loved your post and thanks for the information on the (hopefully) pending
release of the Scotto tape. I'm also an admirer of Troyanos. The last time I
saw her was in I Capuleti e i Montecchi here at LOC. I loved the anecdote
about Lehmann!
Best wishes,
Mimi
james jorden
> As I said above, what was so odd about Scotto, is that singers (even
> catastrophic ones) are simply not booed at the Met.
Emma has posted previously stating that he was in attendance at a
performance at which Callas was booed (and vegetables thrown at). Just
two weeks ago Cecilia Bartoli was booed, though only by a few people; I
personally have heard Vladimir Bogachov, Maria Guleghina, and Alain
Fondary booed at the Met in the past month.
--
james jorden
jjo...@ix.netcom.com
http://www.anaserve.com/~parterre
"Gay people not only keep opera going,
they keep plays about opera going."
--- Bette Midler
james jorden
> So you saw Callas in Philly during the October/November 1956 Normas.
Don't be. Emma was eight years old at the time.
Shahrdad
She must have been physically and emotionally exhausted. Her Scala Norma in
55 shows her singing with MDM and Simionato, both huge-voiced singers, and
Callas is able to keep up decibel for decibel. Of course, she doesn't have
the unlimited flood of sound and power one heard at Covent Garden in 1952,
but she's more than up to the challenge. Even as late as 1958, as Medea,
she was able to fully keep up with Vickers, who was even bigger-voiced than
MDM. But then she had all that adrenaline rush brought by her firing from
the Met. From the sound of it, she was in very poor and weak voice for her
whole debut season at the Met. I bet the hostile Time article had something
to do with it. Her voice, for certain, was much more susceptible to the
ravages of emotions than many other singers.
As for Scotto, I've always admired her, but she was not really right for
Norma, though I'm sure she probably gave a few memorable performances in the
part. Her comments in the documentary may have been innocent, but they did
come across badly. I doubt Callas even considered Scotto as a rival, and
Callas' comments made perfect sense. When told that the opera was too long,
Callas simply asked why they didn't shorten Glauce's interminable and
basically useless scene rather than cut the title part. I think Scotto
would have asked the same thing if she were cast as Medea. Telling the
story was really unnecessary and in poor taste, but I don't think Scotto
deserved the treatment she got at her Met Norma.
And as for the Rome Norma, it was a public relations disaster for Callas,
but not a performance disaster. In fact she did get through the first act
barely, but honorably. But she cancelled in order to prevent exactly the
kind of performance the Opera News acticle was refering to.
S.
Terrymelin
>personally have heard Vladimir Bogachov, Maria Guleghina, and Alain
>Fondary booed at the Met in the past month.
I am curious as to what caused the booing of Ms. Guleghina and whether those
present thought it justified. I enjoyed her very much in last seasons LOC
"Nabucco" though that is the extent of my acquaitance with her singing.
Terry Ellsworth
Enzo62
>I am curious as to what caused the booing of Ms. Guleghina and whether those
>present thought it justified. I enjoyed her very much in last seasons LOC
>"Nabucco" though that is the extent of my acquaitance with her singing.
At the October 9th performance of Aida I attended, a lone booer in the standing
room section of Family Circle let Guleghina have it at the final curtain calls.
Although Guleghina made hash of many of the role's crucial moments, including
*all* attempts at sustained high pianissimi, I don't think she deserved that
kind of response.
Vladimir Bogachov, the Radames of the evening, was roundly booed by people in
every section of the house during his final solo bow and it was *totally*
deserved. It was the most atrocious singing I have ever heard at the
Met--perhaps at any leading opera company. Bogachov's "abilities" amounted to
nothing more than coarse, ugly bellowing with a vibrato wide enough drive a
team of camels through. He was loudly booed after "Celeste Aida" by one person
in the standing room section of Family Circle. As I suggested earlier,
Bogachov's detractors grew in number as the evening progressed. Not
surprisingly, he was relieved of his duties at all of future scheduled
performances of the opera. It remains to be seen if his services will be
retained for the revival of Khovanschina.
Frankly, the Met administration should have dismissed him before things even
degenerated to that point. Hell, 12 years ago, Mara Zampieri was sent packing
after a final dress rehearsal of Don Carlo for a lot less!
Emma Alban
TO NEXT SUBJECT
All knowing Jorden wrote:
>Emma was eight years old at the time.<
So now my age is important? I realize I'm an unimportant has been nobody (I'm
just quoting you, your pals McVicker and Kosovsky, and your magazine) but
you've had the latter use his formidable research skills as a librarian to look
up my birthdate? I wonder which of the many books I'm in he checked? I don't
know them all, in fact I don't know any (except they're out there). My
birthdate has been variously given as 1946, 1947, 1948 and 1950. I was born
June 2, 1947 and have the birth certificate to prove it. I went to my first
opera at 4; I was using my allowance to buy complete recordings on sale at
Korvettes at 7 and by then I was reading music. I mentioned my age about
Callas, because of course then and the next season, I was too young to have any
really strong opinions. But I do remember the Norma well because I had so
looked forward to it and made a big deal about going. As with anyone's memory
of anything at any age, I'd say take my impressions with a grain of salt. But
Kosovsky really has to get better at research to be a professional.
The aging Emma Albani
Enzo62
>TELLSWORTH DON'T READ, GO ON
>TO NEXT SUBJECT
I'm sure Terry doesn't need any encouragement to bypass your incoherent,
irrelevant ranting. Most people here do.
dtritter
>
> TELLSWORTH DON'T READ, GO ON
> TO NEXT SUBJECT
>
nyah, nyah,. nyah! so there!
ar any age, {s]he betrays that maturity ended before the middle of this
century, and that good manners never entered the scene.
dft
james jorden
> All knowing Jorden wrote:
> >Emma was eight years old at the time.<
>
> So now my age is important?
No, it *was* important at the time. You were nine years old, then; leave
it to your readers to decide how much credence they should place in a
nine-year-old's impressions repeated 40 years later.
> I realize I'm an unimportant has been nobody (I'm
> just quoting you, your pals McVicker and Kosovsky, and your magazine)
I never called you any of those things in the magazine; neither did
anyone else, and you know it. I admit that in an angry private email I
implied you were a has-been, though I did not say it in so many words.
(I believe the way I expressed it was "Nobody remembers who you were
anyway.") You have frequently called *yourself* "unimportant" and
"nobody;" I cannot recall anyone else's using those terms or even making
that implication.
> Kosovsky really has to get better at research to be a professional.
Mr. Kosovksy told me you were "about 50," according to the biographical
sketch he read. That was a convenient round figure, so I remembered
it. Given that you were deliberately dissembling your identity and
writing long elaborate postings to opera-l hysterically denying that
Emma Albani and Albert Innuarato were the same person (rather as you are
now desperately trying to convince us that you are not "Milla"),
Kosovksy was hardly in a position to ask you point-blank about your
age. Besides, what guarantee would he have that you would tell the
truth about that issue when you have been caught in so many lies
already?
I continue to forward your abusive postings to the head of the abuse
department at AOL; I am sure you will hear from them soon.
james jorden
Should you care to complain about postings that violate AOL's terms of
service, you should forward the offending mail (with complete headers)
to ab...@aol.com.
Emma Alban
Jorden writes:
>I continue to forward your abusive postings to the head of the abuse
department at AOL; I am sure you will hear from them soon.>
Promises, promises. By my count 42 two people have gotten exactly this from
you; three if you include me in the past week. Every other day, before they
kicked you off Oasis, you would post the above privately or publicly about me.
What is that old song, "it seems as though we've stood and talked like this
before..."
And I continue to think you or one of yours is Milla. But I do want to see
"her" post again.
And where by the way are those complaining that you are boring, repetitive, a
broken record and irrelevant to this NG? Where are those calling your idee
fixe about me pathetic? Are they all scared of you and your posse (as many
people write me privately -- and I forward those e-mails to AOL) or do you have
some mystique that pulls posters to your side? I pity them. And of course, I
am being a bore defending myself against your vicious, public slanders
especially when you and yours use my given name which I have not used on these
boards.
As to your attempts to back away from your incessant vilification of Albert
Innaurato over four years, in the few outlets you have access to, well, they
are truly pathetic. I'm the first to admit I've written and said dumb things
in my life, that's what happens when you go into print anywhere. I've taken
many lumps for that. You should just admit you're a hate monger about some
people and let it go. You will always have people on your side. And the
people you slander and attack will always hate you. I find your ignorance
about that the most amusing thing about you -- amusing, because while I think
some of your camp followers are dumb, you are not.
Best,
Emma Albani
Brian Newhouse
"Emma Alban wrote:
"
"> All knowing Jorden wrote:
"
"> >Emma was eight years old at the time.<
">
"> So now my age is important?
"
"No, it *was* important at the time. You were nine years old, then; leave
"it to your readers to decide how much credence they should place in a
"nine-year-old's impressions repeated 40 years later.
"
Actually, eight or nine years old is a very good age to have overwhelming
life-changing impressions, whether of Mario del Monaco or of the
tyrannosaur skeleton in the American Museum of Natural History (the sight
of which inspired the young Stephen Jay Gould to paleontology) or of a
washed-up jellyfish on the beach (see the opening of E.O. Wilson's
*Naturalist*) or whatever. (My apologies to those newsgroupies disgusted
by my juxtaposing Mario del Monaco and a jellyfish; but there are poor
misguided souls out there who find a fine big tenor voice with lots of
squillo equally disgusting.) My questions are, was anybody else in this
newsgroup at those particular performances? Can they confirm or
contradict young Ms. Alban's impressions of Callas? For that matter, do
tapes of any part of those performances survive, has anyone heard them,
and how do they compare?
[snip the usual blather to save screen space]
--
Brian Newhouse
newh...@newton.crisp.net
james_...@smtplink.mssm.edu
> Actually, eight or nine years old is a very good age to have overwhelming
> life-changing impressions...
I could not agree with you more. I would suggest, though, that "overwhelming
life-changing impressions" are not particularly good fodder for analytical
criticism. I wept and shuddered for a night and a day after hearing Dame
Gwyneth Jones's Brunnhilde ten years ago, but I would be hard-pressed to
offer a reasonsed judgement of what sort of voice she was in or how well she
phrased the music. Unless you go in with the knowledge that you will have to
talk rationally about the performance, your "critical" faculties are
disengaged -- which is perhaps as it should be. Wagner, Bellini, Jones and
Callas all surely intended their work to appeal emotionally and
aesthetically. Analysis of the causes of these effects is an additional step
that no one ordinarily takes without a conscious decision to do so.
jj
-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
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Michael E. Miller/Robert E. Seletsky
>
> Michael E. Miller/Robert E. Seletsky <mem...@sprintmail.com> wrote in
> article <36570C...@sprintmail.com>...
> >
> > She was right because [1] even if she she had gone out to explain to the
> > audience herself--assuming she had the voice by then, and wouldn't have
> > fainted from fever--her detractors still would have made a federal case
> > of it and [2] it was just not her job. Have you ever heard an
> > announcement made by the artist him- or herself that he or she was
> > unable to finish?!
> >
> Ah, as a matter of fact, yes.
>
> During a run of Aidas at the Washington Opera c.1990, Aprile Millo, just
> about 2 bars from the end of "Ritorna vincitor" stopped the orchestra,
> walked to the footlights & announced that she was unable to continue.
> Among other things she said was the fact that the audience paid a premium
> price to hear a soprano, not a basso. She then, simply & calmly, walked
> off to be replaced by one Maria Nuotio/Notio - don't ask.
>
> Although I thought she sounded fine that night, she had been ill &
> cancelled several prior performances.
>
> How do I know? I was in the chorus & witnessed the whole thing from the
> wings.
Wild stuff!! Maybe Callas should have done that, but the '50s were
different. Anyway, she was probably afraid of the reaction, that she
wouldn't be believed, etc., and that it really was not her job: she was
a stickler for protocol. The biggest difference between the Rome
situation and the Millo performance, of course, is that there was no
understudy for Callas to announce, even though she had been promised one
by the Rome Opera.
Bob S.
donpaolo
Michael E. Miller/Robert E. Seletsky <mem...@sprintmail.com> wrote in
article <36570C...@sprintmail.com>...
>
> She was right because [1] even if she she had gone out to explain to the
> audience herself--assuming she had the voice by then, and wouldn't have
> fainted from fever--her detractors still would have made a federal case
> of it and [2] it was just not her job. Have you ever heard an
> announcement made by the artist him- or herself that he or she was
> unable to finish?!
> Bob S.
>
Ah, as a matter of fact, yes.
During a run of Aidas at the Washington Opera c.1990, Aprile Millo, just
about 2 bars from the end of "Ritorna vincitor" stopped the orchestra,
walked to the footlights & announced that she was unable to continue.
Among other things she said was the fact that the audience paid a premium
price to hear a soprano, not a basso. She then, simply & calmly, walked
off to be replaced by one Maria Nuotio/Notio - don't ask.
Although I thought she sounded fine that night, she had been ill &
cancelled several prior performances.
How do I know? I was in the chorus & witnessed the whole thing from the
wings.
DonP.
Ron D'Argenio
Monaco to make certain that Callas had a triumph on one of her off nights? So much
the better that they drowned her out! As to del Monaco's ancestry, vocal habits, and
training, isn't a pity, Mr Seletsky, that all the artists who sang with him in the
world's greatest theaters did not hold him to the same high standards that you so
(un) eloquently espouse? I think it is you who should quit barking.
Ron D'Argenio
Michael E. Miller/Robert E. Seletsky
>
> So we are to believe that it was the responsibility of Barbieri, Siepi, and Del
> Monaco to make certain that Callas had a triumph on one of her off nights? So much
> the better that they drowned her out! As to del Monaco's ancestry, vocal habits, and
> training, isn't a pity, Mr Seletsky, that all the artists who sang with him in the
> world's greatest theaters did not hold him to the same high standards that you so
> (un) eloquently espouse? I think it is you who should quit barking.
>
> Ron D'Argenio
Dear Ron,
No offense intended, I assure you. I have never been a huge fan of MDM,
it's true, though compared with most modern tenors, I think of him quite
wistfully on occasion. His history with Callas was not a happy one; just
bad chemistry. I don't understand what you mean by "ancestry," and his
vocal training was doubtless of the highest order. In reading about the
1956 Norma where Callas was outsung by everyone, my first reaction, as a
musician (and what am I doing writing this when I should be practising?)
is that colleagues need to make the music work in a sensible fashion. If
someone is having trouble and has to sing at a lower volume, it just
seems to make sense that, for purposes of blend and consistent texture,
colleagues should also scale back their basic dynamic levels somewhat.
Perhaps I've got it all wrong, but I have never thought of opera as a
competitive sport.
With kindest regards,
Robert Seletsky
donpaolo
neutral about Mme. Callas. I am not one of the legions of adorers of La
Divina, nor do I use her picture as a bullseye on my dartboard. I respect
her for what she was, a great interpreter & serious, committed artist; but
I cannot listen to her trecordings for any length of time. As far as her
personality is concerned, suffice to say that she responded to a letter
that I sent her during her Met "comeback" in a very polite, friendly &
cordial manner & accomodated with an autographed photo.
Whether or not you are a fan of Mr. DelMonaco, the fact remains that he has
gone down in operatic history as the greatest interpreter of Otello in the
past 50 or so years, bar none. He also had more than ample vocal equipment
to provide excitement as Chenier, Canio & other roles, never sparing
himself & without cracking the top notes.
To refer to him as a "bastard" casts doubts upon not only your own
perceptions of great singing, but upon your lineage as well.
Also, it is not the duty or responsibility of other cast members, who are
in good form to scale down their voices of personalities to compensate for
another who is in trouble. Why should they appear weak as well? If, for
example, a soprano is in difficulty at the end of the Boheme Act I duet, it
is perceived as an act of mercy if the tenor lets go & "covers" her in the
last notes. By such holding back on the part of the singer in fine voice,
the other artist's indisposition would be made even more obvious.
Did the non-Italians Bjoerling, Nilsson, Rysanek, Ghiaurov, et. al.,
receive similar treatment at the hands of the Phila. opera fans? I
seriously doubt it.
If Callas was, indeed, considered an "American" artist (by the time she
returned to the USA, I believe that many lost sight of the fact that she
was one of "us" & considered her as Greek), did it hold that Tucker,
Kirsten, Peerce, Warren, Quilico, Vickers & the rest, received their share
of the hostilities? Again, I seriously doubt it.
DonPaolo
Michael E. Miller/Robert E. Seletsky <mem...@sprintmail.com> wrote in
article <365711...@sprintmail.com>...
> themselves. And Callas had BIG reasons to feel angry that night, from
> what you say: the voice not obeying in her signature role, and she was
> saddled with colleagues who were either too inflexible to accommodate
> her or the music (Barbieri, and possibly Siepi), and one who probably
> deliberately wanted to make her feel worse--that bastard barking
> non-musician tenor MDM.
>
Ed Rosen
writes:
And, if I recall, the speech from the stage was in Italian!!!
Ed
james jorden
>
> Also, it is not the duty or responsibility of other cast members, who are
> in good form to scale down their voices of personalities to compensate for
> another who is in trouble.
Not a responsibility, no, but it is considered the sort of thing that
good colleages try to do when it is possible: one tries to scale down
the voice or do whatever else is necessary to help an ailing artist do
his best. A classic example of this sort of courtesy is Giulietta
Simionato's kindness to Callas during the Paris run of NORMA, following
the weakened soprano's lead as to phrasing, cutting off high notes, and
volume. Simionato certainly deserves the highest praise for her kind and
selfless behavior.
However, this sort of etiquette presupposes that the condition of the
suffering artist is known to the colleague and that the colleague is
physically able to help out. We do not know that del Monaco knew of
Callas's vocal distress. Those onstage with an artist are not at the
best vantage point to hear her as the audience does, and at any rate del
Monaco's attention was, reasonably enough, turned primarily toward his
own performance. It may well be that del Monaco could not lighten his
voice even if he wanted to; that was simply a physical limitation of his
technique and no reflection on him as a colleague. We are told that
during at least one NORMA at the Met, an indisposed Callas asked del
Monaco to omit the final (interpolated) high B-flat just before the end
of the opera; he did so, but Callas apparently forgot and took the
B-flat anyway. But they sang together again, only days later, so it
seems apparent that no great offense was taken on either side. It seems
obvious that the real problem in these situations is not between the
artists, but in the conclusions some overly0devoted fans draw based on
their prejudices against these artists. Anyone who does not bend over
backwards to praise and glorify and facilitate Callas in terms the fan
considers suitable is called a "bastard" or a "bitch." If in fact del
Monaco was such a terrific lout, why then did Callas sing with him so
frequently for over 10 years?
Michael E. Miller/Robert E. Seletsky
> ...Whether or not you are a fan of Mr. Del Monaco, the fact remains that he has
> gone down in operatic history as the greatest interpreter of Otello in the
> past 50 or so years, bar none...
>
> To refer to him as a "bastard" casts doubts upon not only your own
> perceptions of great singing, but upon your lineage as well.
Sorry, I used the word in its popular connotation, not its literal one;
it was rude of me. Further, though I was never a particular fan of his
voice (given Bjoerling, Corelli, Tucker, etc. of the same era), I
recognize his importance in the history of opera. As for the word I
used, I only meant it the context of his poor relationship with Callas,
and that a bad night for her was probably a pleasure for him. No artist
should treat another unprofessionally.
> Also, it is not the duty or responsibility of other cast members, who are
> in good form to scale down their voices of personalities to compensate for
> another who is in trouble. Why should they appear weak as well? If, for
> example, a soprano is in difficulty at the end of the Boheme Act I duet, it
> is perceived as an act of mercy if the tenor lets go & "covers" her in the
> last notes. By such holding back on the part of the singer in fine voice,
> the other artist's indisposition would be made even more obvious.
This may well be the case and I hadn't thought of it in that light. My
hypothesis was that if the texture of the opera appears unbalanced owing
to unavailability of volume on the part of a given singer, it seemed
more musical for colleagues to compensate and restore the music to
proper balances. And the ear adjusts quickly to slightly quieter overall
dynamic levels. Further, why would anyone want to be appear to be
oversinging, especially in the bel canto repertoire (we're talking about
Norma here).
> ...If Callas was, indeed, considered an "American" artist (by the time she
> returned to the USA, I believe that many lost sight of the fact that she
> was one of "us" & considered her as Greek), did it hold that Tucker,
> Kirsten, Peerce, Warren, Quilico, Vickers & the rest, received their share
> of the hostilities? Again, I seriously doubt it.
You're probably right: Americans didn't like Callas at this period
(1956), perhaps owing to the horrendous press she had received in Time
magazine. Callas herself never felt at home in the country of her birth,
probably for familial reasons. Still, by 1965, when she was vocally
depleted, hundreds waited outside for days to get tickets to see and
hear her. A strange life.
Regards,
Robert Seletsky
james jorden
> and that a bad night for her was probably a pleasure for him.
Hello, it's the clue phone and it's for you! How do you know this,
except that you already don't like del Monaco? You weren't there;
neither was I, so we have very little way of knowing whether Callas's
distress gave del Monaco "pleasure" or not. Did he ever say so? Did
Callas ever say so? Did *anyone* ever say so? As with Scotto, your
reasoning seems to be:
del Monaco is a bastard;
therefore he hated Callas;
therefore he deliberately oversang;
therefore he is a bastard...
You really could have a much fuller enjoyment of these artists and of
opera in general if you did not blinker yourself with this circular
reasoning.
Michael E. Miller/Robert E. Seletsky
> Anyone who does not bend over
> backwards to praise and glorify and facilitate Callas in terms the fan
> considers suitable is called a "bastard" or a "bitch." If in fact del
> Monaco was such a terrific lout, why then did Callas sing with him so
> frequently for over 10 years?
As I explained in another post, my use of vulgar terminology was clearly
in error; it was especially inappropriate in the case of so respected an
artist as MDM. I would wish any artist to assist--not praise, glorify,
or facilitate--another artist in performance for the good of the music.
Contrary to the subject matter of my posts, it is the music itself that
interests me; for me, Callas simply best served her repertoire; I hold
no special adulation for Callas per se. Actually, opera is only a minor
hobby for me; the real repertoire of my expertise is instrumental music
of the 17th century. From reports I have read, del Monaco and Callas did
not have a very good working relationship; and, as with people like Kurt
Baum, contractual necessities threw them together probably more than
either one would have wished.
I have no wish to succumb to the frighteningly, but dangerously
seductive, hyper-charged polemical tone of this group, so I think it is
best that I absent myself permanently. Thanks for the conversation,
folks.
Sincerely,
Robert E. Seletsky
Ed Rosen
writes:
>donpaolo wrote:
>>
>
>> Also, it is not the duty or responsibility of other cast members,
who are
>> in good form to scale down their voices of personalities to
compensate for
>> another who is in trouble.
>
>good colleages try to do when it is possible: one tries to scale down
>the voice or do whatever else is necessary to help an ailing artist do
>his best. A classic example of this sort of courtesy is Giulietta
>Simionato's kindness to Callas during the Paris run of NORMA,
following
>the weakened soprano's lead as to phrasing, cutting off high notes,
and
>volume. Simionato certainly deserves the highest praise for her kind
and
>selfless behavior.
An interesting addition to this lovely story about the great Simionato
is that Fiorenza Cossotto sang with Callas in this run of Normas, also.
Before the performance, Cossotto was asked not to take the C in her
repeat of the melody in their first duet, since Callas would not be
attempting the C that night.
Cossotto said she wouldn't sing the C. Comes the performance, and
Callas, in poor form, did not take the C, as planned. Cossotto went
ahead and not only did take the C, but held it almost forever. Not a
very considerate colleague, I would say.
The stories about Simionato and Cossotto are both true. I have tapes of
both performances.
Best,
Ed
james jorden
> I have no wish to succumb to the frighteningly, but dangerously
> seductive, hyper-charged polemical tone of this group...
Too late. You could give lessons in shrillness.
> I think it is best that I absent myself permanently.
Try not to stain the tatami when you drop the ceremonial dagger, please.
Shahrdad
Michael E. Miller/Robert E. Seletsky wrote in message
<365B38...@sprintmail.com>...
>
>I have no wish to succumb to the frighteningly, but dangerously
>best that I absent myself permanently. Thanks for the conversation,
>folks.
Dear Bob,
The polemical tone you refer to seems to come from only one person, and that
is JJ. So let her scream all she wants, and we'll just say what we think.
For some reason, he thinks that our opinions are very different from his,
while in fact we're saying mostly the same thing. So please don't deny the
rest of us of your well informed and politely stated opinions.
We're certainly not going to hell, just because JJ says so! He can go if he
wants!
si...@webtv.net
I, for one, would greatly miss all your postings and the many kindnesses
you have extended to many of us on rmo, myself included. Please don't
let JJ's hysterical rantings when he is crossed by differing opinions
drive you from the group as it has others. He is a wonderful writer
in so many ways and his knowledge is astounding and his Parterre Box is
a source of enormous fun so that it is a shame that on occasion he
loses it.Try to remember his good points which are many and forgive him
his excesses which are not as many and don't deprive us of your much
needed company.
james jorden
>
> Please don't
> let JJ's hysterical rantings when he is crossed by differing opinions
> drive you from the group as it has others.
Correction: I get angry when I am patronized and lied to, and when I
see people without knowledge make absurd claims based on flimsy evidence
or simply on prejudice. Different opinions I love, if they are backed
up with sound judgement and solid facts.
james jorden
>
>
> The polemical tone you refer to seems to come from only one person, and that
> is JJ.
And then demonstrates his own saintly and pacifist nature by adding...
> So let her scream all she wants, and we'll just say what we think.
> For some reason, he thinks that our opinions are very different from his,
> while in fact we're saying mostly the same thing.
>
> We're certainly not going to hell, just because JJ says so! He can go if he
> wants!
Blessed are the peacemakers, creep.
james jorden
> >
> Please don't
> let JJ's hysterical rantings when he is crossed by differing opinions
> drive you from the group as it has others.
Ahem. For those of you who weren't playing along at home, or who insist
on spinning this into a martyrdom for poor little Seletsky, let us
recall that he has fabricated out of whole cloth the idea that Mario del
Monaco deliberately sang as loudly as he could, knowing and delighting
in the fact that Callas was ill, the better to humiliate her. All of
this he made up out of whole cloth simply from a report that Callas was
in bad form one night and that the other singers in the opera were loud.
He then went on to describe del Monaco as a "barker" and a "bastard"
based on this anecdote.
In another thread, Seletsky went from calling a Scotto interview
"tactless" to claiming that it was a deliberate acting out of her
lifelong jealousy of Callas, part of an ongoing plot to tell lies and
slanders about Callas. When challenged to justify this idea (which such
veteran observers of the operatic scene as Ed Rosen and Emma Albani
dismissed out of hand), his only retort was to call Scotto "stupid" and
a "bitch."
When he was called to task for such wild and sweeping statements (by at
least half a dozen regular members of this newsgroup), Seletsky first
made the excuse that he really doesn't know much about opera, then
whined that his feelings were hurt by all the rancor here, as if he had
nothing to do with the arguments that so disturbed him.
He made the decision to leave. Fine. He could just as easily have made
the decision to stay. But would that have been so easy to do when he
found himself on the losing end of several arguments *he* instigated?
Better to blame it on others, surely, instead of accepting
responsibility for his inaccurate and sometimes frankly mendacious
statements.
It's called "you won't play my game so I'm going home." I stopped
playing along with this sort of juvenile emotional blackmail when I was
a kid. If it makes a few whiners feel constrained to call me nasty
names, so be it.
Discuss, if you're going to discuss. Or go away if you're going away.
But for God's sake stop whining.
Po
of ensemble singing, I tend to agree with Bob on terms of musical
obligation of scaling down one's voice. And if you think MDM was not
capable of scaling down the voice...I think that speaks poorly of his
singing technique. It takes much much more skill to sing a projecting
mezza voce or piano. Singing until one's veins pops out from the
foreheard doesn't quite take much talent of subtility. Always, in
playing chamber music, it is all of the musicians' responsibility to
serve the music. And that means playing to fit each individual person.
Ever wonder why groups form that don't break apart? To bad that doesn't
happen in Opera...it would serve the music much much better.
I used to become miffed when I accompanied people and they would want me
to follow them no matter if they were making a rhythmic mistake or
whatever.
However...the key thing, I've found, is that in rehearsal, perfectionism
is key. But serving the music and presenting the audience with a gift
of your labors. This means it's all about the performance and the
music. And I personally don't find music fulfilling when it becomes an
outright duel.
Not only is it more fulfilling for the audience...it becomes inwardly
rewarding as well.
-Po
Though you are right...accusing someone of being vindictive of a
colleague may have gone a bit far......but the pendulum also swings just
as much in the opposite direction.
james jorden wrote:
> Michael E. Miller/Robert E. Seletsky wrote:
>
> > and that a bad night for her was probably a pleasure for him.
>
> Hello, it's the clue phone and it's for you! How do you know this,
> except that you already don't like del Monaco? You weren't there;
> neither was I, so we have very little way of knowing whether Callas's
> distress gave del Monaco "pleasure" or not. Did he ever say so? Did
> Callas ever say so? Did *anyone* ever say so? As with Scotto, your
> reasoning seems to be:
>
> del Monaco is a bastard;
> therefore he hated Callas;
> therefore he deliberately oversang;
> therefore he is a bastard...
>
> You really could have a much fuller enjoyment of these artists and of
> opera in general if you did not blinker yourself with this circular
> reasoning.
>
donpaolo
james jorden <jjo...@ix.netcom.com> wrote in article
<365B2E...@ix.netcom.com>...
<<respectfully snipped>>
James, I believe you phrased it perfectly re:DelM's vocal artillery - I
firmly believe that it was physically impossible to scale down that huge
instrument (voice, that is); just as it would have been impossible for,
say, Valletti to command DelM's volume.
Great post in general.
DonP.
james jorden
>
> Being an instrumentalist and maybe not getting the full picture in terms
> of ensemble singing, I tend to agree with Bob on terms of musical
> obligation of scaling down one's voice.
No one here has mentioned the conductor for the evening: singers'
dynamics generally thought of as his artistic responsibility.
But the bottom line is that opera is not chamber music, as you say.
People who bought tickets for a Mario del Monaco performance were not
paying for interpretive subtlety or delicate half-tones. They were
expecting a big, physically thrilling sound, which is what he delivered.
One might as well attend a new Bruce Willis blockbuster and complain
because it lacks any "Chekhovian irony."
Shahrdad
james jorden wrote in message <365B85...@ix.netcom.com>...
>>Blessed are the peacemakers, creep.
JJ, maybe we should take a vote to as to the biggest creep in the group!
You'd win hands down. That said, most of us still look forward to your
postings and enjoy your opinions, though not your abusive language.
james_...@smtplink.mssm.edu
> JJ, maybe we should take a vote to as to the biggest creep in the group!
> You'd win hands down. That said, most of us still look forward to your
> postings and enjoy your opinions, though not your abusive language.
I feel the same way about you, except I don't enjoy your opinions, which I
find ill-informed and ridiculously unrealistic, with a strong element of
contentiousness. Your recent anti-Scotto crusade suggests that you would not
recognize good singing even if it hit you in the face and bloodied your nose.
Which, come to think of it, might be a good idea anyway.
Ron D'Argenio
The rivalry with Callas is well-documented,but it is, after all, 40 years after the fact.
The MDM remarks were just inappropriate, and I would feel the same way had the roles been
reversed and someone called Callas a temperamental ugly-voiced bitch. Many of us do not
view opera as sport, as you say, but these rivalries are a fact of life and more than once
have led to some of the greatest perfs in history. So be it.
Regards, Ron
"Michael E. Miller/Robert E. Seletsky" wrote:
Christopher Troise
> donpaolo wrote:
> > Also, it is not the duty or responsibility of other cast members, who are
> > in good form to scale down their voices of personalities to compensate for
> > another who is in trouble.
>
> Not a responsibility, no, but it is considered the sort of thing that
> good colleages try to do when it is possible: one tries to scale down
> the voice or do whatever else is necessary to help an ailing artist do
> his best.
That sounds just wonderful for the audience - they're the ones paying money
to see a performance, and what they get is a mamby-pamby cast going through
the motions to make sure one ailing member doesn't look bad? I'd rather have
one bad performer looking bad and everyone else pulling out the stops to make
up for it, rather than an entire cast putting forth a mediocre effort and nobody
looks bad.
Just my two cents.
Eckingair
>>> announcement made by the artist him- or herself that he or she was
>>> unable to finish?
Not exactly the same, but Jose Cura addressed the audience that he would
attempt to sing while dealing with a persistent cold and a hand in a cast.
This, again, was the Washington Opera: Samson et Dalila. He didn't finish that
night. But neither did the Dalila (Denyce Graves). Both were too ill to sing
the dress rehersal, and it seems neither have recovered sufficiently over a
week later.
Must be something in the air in DC.
Ed/
Shahrdad
In one of the early biographies of Sutherland, the writer recounts her
famous Lucia in 1959. Renato Cioni who was the tenor was ill, and his voice
was not responding well that night. In all their scenes together,
Sutherland scaled down her voice, so as not to outsing her sick partner. I
have always thought this was a very moving and very kind gesture on her
part, and off all nights, on the biggest night of her career. That is true
professionalism and courtesy.
S.
Shahrdad
james_...@smtplink.mssm.edu wrote in message
<73h5pb$sce$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com>...
>I feel the same way about you, except I don't enjoy your opinions, which I
>find ill-informed and ridiculously unrealistic, with a strong element of
>contentiousness. Your recent anti-Scotto crusade suggests that you would
not
>recognize good singing even if it hit you in the face and bloodied your
nose.
>Which, come to think of it, might be a good idea anyway.
Well, JJ, thanks a lot. You continue to prove my point. I don't think of
this as an anti-Scotto crusade, since like you, I find her a very committed
artist. I can't say I enjoy her singing later in her career, but then I
don't enjoy Callas' late singing either.
As to whether or not the Scotto comments on the documentary were malicious,
I think that they were not, but it's easy to perceive them as such. As to
"Tell Callas to sing this," that was clearly spoken in the heat of passion,
and wasn't addressed so much toward Callas as towards her hecklers.
You stated in one of your postings that it bothers you when people say
things that aren't true. It has bothered me when Bonynge says that Callas
changed Norma to suit her voice, when she actually sang it as written except
for the usual transpositions. It has also bothered me when Scotto said that
Callas simplified the Armida aria, whereas she didn't simplify at all. I
suppose she could just have been misinformend. Who knows.
And if you don't enjoy reading the opinions, just don't read. You're
entitled to state yours, and the rest of us are entitled to ours.
S.
Luca Logi
> I think had she gone before the curtain herself and told the audience that
> she was losing her voice and couldn't go on, they would probably have been
> okay about it. She could be very charming and vulnerable at times. But she
> was too proud and professional to do this, and she wrongly expected the
> management to be equally professional. And with an audience who was ready
> to believe that she was an unprofessional bitch and a management ready to
> screw her over to save their own asses, she was damned from the beginning of
> the whole affair.
As far as I know the management did not save their asses, as the
artistic director was kicked out in a very short time on the charge of
not having a cover available on that night.
The Italian president (Gronchi) was present at the performance, adding
another layer of pressure to both Callas and management.
As the performance ended after the first act plus a very long
intermission, the president got out of the opera house only to discover
that his driver - assuming the opera would end much later - was at the
time using the presidential car for his private use, and was actually
stranded.
Also the driver was sacked and the all history just added a tone the
presidential disappointment about the evening.
--
Luca Logi - Firenze - Italy
ll...@dada.it
james jorden
>
> I think had [Callas] gone before the curtain herself and told the audience
> been okay about it.
Oh, yeah. She would go out and *speak* to the audience (like, using her
*voice*) to tell them that she had lost her *voice.* That would go over
really well, really well indeed.
Today, a singer would have professional management and a publicist who
would deal with the press and would spin whatever spinning was
necessary. Almost certainly the theater's press rep and the publicist
would conspire to tell some plausible lie where both the theater and the
artist saved face; e.g., that the proposed understudy suddenly became
unavailable on the day of performance, and that Callas had been ill for
several days but insisted on performing so as not to disappoint, etc.
etc., followed perhaps by a statement by Callas's doctor.
It is never an artist's responsibility to make an announcement in the
opera house; that is the intendant's job, whether he does it himself or
delegates it to a subordinate. Audiences know that, and a breach of that
convention would in fact be so startling that it would make the
situation appear even worse than it already was.
Po
surviving. Indeed, if the base point of the evening is to watch competitive
singing, I'll at least go all out and buy some professional wrestling tickets
or go attend some bloodsport. At least I'll be getting titillation at its
purest and without the base element of hypocrisy.
Exactly, why not extend this logic to almost all ensembles of music? I want
to go to a concert and watch the orchestra completely swallow the soloist
just because I happen to love the Berlin Philharmonic brass. Why not? it's
really a Bruce Willis movie in disguise.
Even though I avidly follow certain singers' careers, to the exclusion of
many others, I'm sure that many who go to opera just want to treasure the
music. After all, even the titillations of acid rock get a little old. And
I highly doubt Bellini wrote it as such. Sure, the tenor has his moments in
Norma, but I find that everything of a performance is fitted in accordance to
the best way to serve the music, it becomes just that much more
electrifying. When I play chamber music with a couple of friends, it's very
easy to launch into a very exciting moment without any regard for the
structural underpinnings and the harmony. Harmony is just as important as
the solo line--otherwise soloists wouldn't need orchestras.
I, myself, am an avid Callas and Barbieri fan. Granted I might be
disappointed by Callas' performance if she lacked projection, but surrounded
by artistic excellence and so the drama comes out, at maybe a lower dynamic
volume would be just as effective. Certainly, it makes the evening more
disappointing if her lack of volume be brought into high relief by her
colleagues blasting away.
As for the conductor, it definitely falls on him to at least notify the
singers to come down a dynamic level because he's obviously the person who
has the clearest picture of what the audience is hearing, but if the singers
ignore the signs, what can he do? I mean, when one acheives the stardom of
MDM or Callas, one is apt to become defensive to suggestions. I had recently
read somewhere (it might even be your own La Cieca...I can't remember) that
Angela Gheorgiu refused suggestions from the Maestro of La Scala retorting,
"I am a star, maestro." or something to that effect. She was fired. MAybe
it's just wishful thinking on my part that people in professional music
circuits to want to serve the music rather their own gratification. Norma is
subtle. It's a multi-faceted work...and I damned like to see Bruce Willis
come and sing it.
-Po
james jorden wrote:
> Po wrote:
> >
> > Being an instrumentalist and maybe not getting the full picture in terms
> > of ensemble singing, I tend to agree with Bob on terms of musical
> > obligation of scaling down one's voice.
>
> No one here has mentioned the conductor for the evening: singers'
> dynamics generally thought of as his artistic responsibility.
>
> But the bottom line is that opera is not chamber music, as you say.
> People who bought tickets for a Mario del Monaco performance were not
> paying for interpretive subtlety or delicate half-tones. They were
> expecting a big, physically thrilling sound, which is what he delivered.
>
> One might as well attend a new Bruce Willis blockbuster and complain
> because it lacks any "Chekhovian irony."
>
james jorden
>
> I had recently
> read somewhere (it might even be your own La Cieca...I can't remember) that
> Angela Gheorgiu refused suggestions from the Maestro of La Scala retorting,
> "I am a star, maestro." or something to that effect. She was fired.
You didn't read that in parterre box. It is true that this past summer
Gheorghiu and Muti disagreed about some detail of interpretation in
PAGLIACCI (though not at La Scala) and Gheorghiu either quit or was
fired.
Shahrdad
james jorden wrote in message <365D70...@ix.netcom.com>...
>Oh, yeah. She would go out and *speak* to the audience (like, using her
>*voice*) to tell them that she had lost her *voice.* That would go over
>really well, really well indeed.
>
>Today, a singer would have professional management and a publicist who
>would deal with the press and would spin whatever spinning was
>necessary. Almost certainly the theater's press rep and the publicist
>would conspire to tell some plausible lie where both the theater and the
>artist saved face; e.g., that the proposed understudy suddenly became
>unavailable on the day of performance, and that Callas had been ill for
>several days but insisted on performing so as not to disappoint, etc.
>etc., followed perhaps by a statement by Callas's doctor.
>
>It is never an artist's responsibility to make an announcement in the
>opera house; that is the intendant's job, whether he does it himself or
>delegates it to a subordinate. Audiences know that, and a breach of that
>convention would in fact be so startling that it would make the
>situation appear even worse than it already was.
>
singing voice, especially for a woman who usually speaks in her lowest
register, which is the last to go. But you're right: the general public
won't know that. If you can talk, then certainly you can sing all the high
C's in Norma.
You are also right about it not being the artist's responsibility to spin,
but Callas was not dealing with responsible people. According to her, she
had told them already that she didn't feel well and had asked about an
understudy. She was told, "No one can substitute for Callas." Whoever
heard of a major opera house performing the most difficult opera in the
Soprano repertoire without an understudy? Unfortunately, the management did
not take their responsibility seriously, and when push came to shove, they
let Callas take all the fire. She was damned from the start. Or perhaps
they thought that if she could sing Brunnhilde and Elvira back to back in
49, nothing could stop her in 58. The management knew that there was no
excuse for not having had an understudy, but why take responsibility when
you can have Callas take ALL the blame. EVERYBODY knows that she's an
unprofessional, petty, tempestuous prima donna, and they'll know that she
quit because the applause wasn't loud enough after Casta Diva.
In one of the documentaries, the news footage of the scandal shows Callas
recording Norma in 1954, and they say it was the rehearsal the day before
the cancellation. How they explained all the microphones in front of the
singers, I don't know. I think much of the public really enjoyed watching
her being destroyed, as I'm sure many enjoyed Scotto's ordeal at her Met
Norma.
Do you know what the management told the public when the announced the
cancellation? Did they say that Callas was not well, or did they just say
that she's cancelled the performance?
james jorden
>
>
> Do you know what the management told the public when the announced the
> cancellation? Did they say that Callas was not well, or did they just say
> that she's cancelled the performance?
I believe not only did they not say she was ill, they used the word
"capricious" in the announcement. Unfortunately, this was just not
going to be any sort of winning situation for Callas. She was not much
liked in Rome (since she was a "Scala" artist), and there was a certain
resistance to her because she was not a native Italian. That, plus she
didn't play the expected whiny-victim-poor-little-female-me game. She
got angry and she yelled, you know, like men do. Nothing threatens
wimps (e.g., the Rome Opera management) more than a woman who yells --
and what's worse, who is in the right.
In the defense of the Rome Opera people, remember that they were not
dealing directly with Callas, but with Meneghini, who had huge issues
himself. Of course the public did not really know that Meneghini was
anything more than Callas's funny little husband; they were unaware of
his temper tantrums and demands.
Michael E. Miller/Robert E. Seletsky
>
> Shahrdad wrote:
> > Do you know what the management told the public when the announced the
> > cancellation? Did they say that Callas was not well, or did they just say
> > that she's cancelled the performance?
>
> I believe not only did they not say she was ill, they used the word
> "capricious" in the announcement. Unfortunately, this was just not
> going to be any sort of winning situation for Callas. She was not much
> liked in Rome (since she was a "Scala" artist), and there was a certain
> resistance to her because she was not a native Italian. That, plus she
> didn't play the expected whiny-victim-poor-little-female-me game. She
> got angry and she yelled, you know, like men do. Nothing threatens
> wimps (e.g., the Rome Opera management) more than a woman who yells --
> and what's worse, who is in the right.
> In the defense of the Rome Opera people, remember that they were not
> dealing directly with Callas, but with Meneghini, who had huge issues
> himself. Of course the public did not really know that Meneghini was
> anything more than Callas's funny little husband; they were unaware of
> his temper tantrums and demands.
----------------------
I know I said I'd stay off here, but this matter interests me a great
deal. Mr. Jorden's assessment of Callas' difficulties in Rome, the
sexist attitude towards strong women, and the problems management had
with Meneghini are 100% on the money, of course.
The actual terse announcement from the stage, from the VOCE LP goes:
"Per causa di forza maggiore la rapprentazione e` sospesa" (Roughly,
"due to circumstances beyond our control, the performance is
cancelled.") Prior to this, a male radio announcer, in rapid dialogue
between himself and a female colleague says, at one point: "mi hanno
autorizzato a comunicare alla radio questa notizia: "La signora Callas
accusa un improvviso abbassamento di voce." ("I have been authorized to
make the following announcement: "Madame Callas has complained of a
sudden loss of voice".
Following that, the female radio announcer does, in fact say, "Ecco
allora che le nostre interpretazioni erano un pochino avventate, no e`
vero; pensavamo ad un malumore e viceversa si tratta di un abbassamento
di voce. Dobbiamo aggiungere che effettivamente sin da ieri avevamo,
avuto notizia che la Signora Callas no si sentiva perfettamente a posto
con la voce; forse stanchezza, forse un po' di freddo... ("So then our
interpretation of the delay was a bit hasty, wasn't it? We were thinking
it was due to a bad mood and instead it's a matter of loss of voice. We
should add that, in fact, since yesterday we had heard that Signora
Callas was not feeling perfectly in order with her voice, whether out of
tiredness, or because of a bit of a cold...")
Bob Seletsky
Ed Rosen
writes:
>"Shahrdad"wrote:
>
>> JJ, maybe we should take a vote to as to the biggest creep in the
group!
>> You'd win hands down. That said, most of us still look forward to
your
>> postings and enjoy your opinions, though not your abusive language.
These dumb personal attacks speak for themselves, and, IMO, puts the
sender in a bad light, not the sendee.
Ed
Ivrys88
>These dumb personal attacks speak for themselves, and, IMO, puts the
>sender in a bad light, not the sendee.
There is no doubt about exactly who started THIS latest round, and it wasn't
Shardad.
james jorden
> There is no doubt about exactly who started THIS latest round, and it wasn't
> Shardad.
And who, pray, has taken it on himself to fan the flames of an argument
in which he was not even one of the opponents?
Shahrdad
james jorden wrote in message <365F87...@ix.netcom.com>...
>Ivrys88 wrote:
>
>> There is no doubt about exactly who started THIS latest round, and it
wasn't
>> Shardad.
>
>And who, pray, has taken it on himself to fan the flames of an argument
>in which he was not even one of the opponents?
That's enough for God's sake. JJ is a staple of this newsgroup, and a
wonderful contributor. He does have a temper, however, which can get out of
hand at times. Whatever is done and said is over now, and we can go on
discussing what we love. Lets just let it go.
S.